Assam staffers stare at 20% pay cut if rewed sans divorce or first wife alive

Guwahati: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday that state government employees entering a second marriage without a legal divorce or while their first wife is alive will face a 20% salary cut.

"If a government employee abandons his first wife without legally divorcing her and enters into an informal marriage with another woman, 20% of his salary will be deducted and deposited directly into the first wife's account upon her application to the government," Sarma said.

Sarma said he had come across several cases in which government employees left their wives without completing the divorce process and went on to live with or marry another woman. He said the salary deduction could continue until a court decides on the marital dispute.


The Assam government has already introduced a Uniform Civil Code and brought in provisions prohibiting polygamous marriages. Government service rules also restrict second marriages. The CM indicated that the government was looking at extending similar protection to women in the private sector.

The state government earlier introduced a provision to deduct 10% salary of employees who ignored their parents, he said.